Unlike
the past two books we’ve read in the class, Paradise
Lost and Inferno, Jane Eyre posed us with a break from the
deeply religious world. Charlotte Bronte’s book still has the religious aspect;
however, it is not as strong of a theme as the others, and also, it portrays
the corrupt side of religious beliefs of her time, contrary to other books that
portray figures obediently following the bible and common-beliefs. Overall, Christianity
and God affect Jane’s life differently from many other protagonists have been
influenced in past readings.
Jane Eyre encounters two religious
figures that represent Bronte’s distrust in Christian system; Mr. Brocklehurst
and St. John. The master of Lowood School, Mr. Brocklehurst, symbolizes the
hypocrisy and corruption of a religious individual. Charlotte Bronte casts a
sense of irony as he tells Jane how she “has [have] a wicked heart; and you
must pray to God to change it: to give you a new and clean one: to take away
your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” (Bronte 32) It is ironic
because he is the one who is accused of maltreatment of the Lowood girls and
his luxurious living is revealed in Chapter 10.
St. John appears later in the novel
as one of the Rivers siblings. He is a minister at Morton who is cold, reserved, and
often controlling in his interactions with others. Unlike Mr. Brocklehurst, St.
John is very faithful to God, and does not commit any horrible wrongdoings.
Throughout the later chapters, he shows his abstinence from emotions and
self-desires, which makes him “a statue instead of a man” (Bronte 322-323).
Bronte’s portrayal of St. John is unique for a man who is following the bible
as it reads. Though he is faithful to the church, and is a respectable
minister, he is unhappy. Through the portrayal of St. John, Charlotte Bronte
conveys how satisfaction cannot be achieved only through the obedience of
religious outlines.
In fact, this idea is backed up by Jane Eyre
herself. Although Jane does not appear too religious, she often refers and
speaks of the God, such as when she says “there is not a future state worse
than this present one – let me break away, and go home to God!” (Bronte 288) as
she grieves over the fact that Mr. Rochester had fooled her over his first
wife, Bertha Mason. However, her faith in God compared to the other two
characters is very different. She follows Christianity and its beliefs; but moreover,
she follows her own morale and trusts her own decisions. In Chapter 34, when
St. John proposes to Jane, she turns down the offer, even though he mentioned
how “it is the cause of God I advocate: it is under His standard I enlist you,”
meaning how the marriage would follow the intent of God. Upon hearing this,
Jane Eyre rejects marrying him, and she decides to return by Mr. Rochester, who
is her true love.
Overall, in Jane
Eyre, Charlotte Bronte illustrated Christianity from many viewpoints. Throughout
the long quest, Jane figures out that neither sinning like Mr. Brocklehurst, or
taking religion to the extreme, like St. John, produces happiness, but in the
end it comes down to his/ her own decision, and their own will to follow their
own central beliefs.
